Well we headed off to Bendigo and decided to stay at Bendigo Showground, it is a cheaper version of a caravan park. When we got here there were heaps of vans already here, the toilets and showers are OK, just. Today Sunday they have a large market here at the showgrounds all day, boy it was a different outlook than the one we were spoilt with at Lake Hume, and the markets were pretty junky. We took the "Talking Tram" ride around the city which was a good way of explaining the history behind the old buildings. They have some beautiful old buildings here, the Sacred Heart Cathedral is believed to be the only Gothic Cathedral to be constructed in the southern hemisphere in the 19th century. Construction started in 1897 but then work ceased due to a lack of funds. After World War 11 work restarted. Very few craftsmen could be found who were skilled in this type of work and stone masons were brought from Italy and England to complete the Cathedral. It was completed in the mid 1970's. I have tried to capture the cathedral in some photos but it is that huge it takes up an enormous block of land with beautiful views from each corner. So please excuse my poor attempt.
I have also included a photo of the Shamrock Hotel which is a beautiful building - The hotel was restored by the State Government as one of Victoria's most important buildings. The original hotel was built in the 1850's with the present building being erected in 1897.
So after spending most of the day site seeing and walking around the town it was back to the van to relax. Tomorrow we head off to Bendigo Wool Mills to hopefully get some bargains and then we have decided to head off the Ballarat as there really is no more that we can explore from here. So hopefully Ballarat will be a little more interesting, but if you do not pursue different parts of the state you are in you will never know. (How does that saying go - "If you never never go, you will never never know").
So enough for now, we hope all is well with all our readers/followers, so until next time - Good bye x
I loved Bendogo, did you go into the white flower atrium in the park?
ReplyDeleteYes Greg we did go into the white flower atrium which was really nice.
ReplyDeleteStill not feeling the love for the place, maybe because it was a nice summers day when we were there, i just loved walking through the park, watching a prisoner being manhandled into the back of a police van at the station, and 'junky' markets are my favorite, trash outweighs jams and condiments anytime .. btw, i wish i'd known to tell you, Daylesford has THE most amazing second hand/antique .. barn, no WAREHOUSE i've ever seen, just HUGE .. and tons of top shelf shit there.
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